Happy Weekend + Links I Love

Happy Friday! This week, it’s all about boosting your self-esteem and loving yourself. It has zero to do with selfishness or arrogance; it’s about cutting yourself some slack on days when you feel not so pretty or less accomplished or whatever insecurities may creep in.

Got any cool weekend plans? I missed the premiere of this film during TIFF and it’s finally out in theatres. Looking forward to watching it this weekend. Have you seen it?

+ Must watch: This TED Talk on Why thinking you’re ugly is bad for you landed in my inbox this week. In it, the Global Director of the Dove Self-Esteem Project, Meaghan Ramsey says: “Women who think they’re overweight have higher rates of absenteeism. 17 per cent of women would not show up to a job interview on a day where they weren’t feeling confident about the way that they look.”

+Joanna spills the beans (finally) on her beauty rituals and of course, she keeps it real. On her beauty philosophy: “When you look in the mirror, pretend you’re a friend instead of yourself, because suddenly a switch is flipped.”

+ “If we run and they kill us, so be it. But we have to run now.” The Nigerian schoolgirls who managed to escape tell their story.

+ “The fate of more than 200 missing schoolgirls abducted by the insurgents six months ago still is being negotiated.” The Nigerian government says Boko Haram have agreed to an immediate cease-fire raising hopes for the release of the remaining 219 schoolgirls.

+ The New Yorker on Amber Vinson’s Airplane Ride. The 29-year-old nurse who worked at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital and helped care for Thomas Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola Wednesday. Before boarding her flight from Cleveland to Dallas, Vinson informed the CDC that she was running a fever of 99.5 degrees, but received the go-ahead to fly.

+ Nearly 100 health care workers who treated the country’s first Ebola patient, Thomas Duncan are being asked to sign agreements to avoid public spaces. If they refuse, leaders will issue court orders restricting movement.

+ “With Ebola spreading even within the hospital setting, we should not delay in taking additional measures to prevent individuals carrying the virus from travelling to the U.S.” Republican lawmakers call for a ban on flights to and from West Africa. But Obama isn’t answering that call. Today, he appointed Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore, to coordinate the federal response to the virus in the U.S.

+ Gisele stuns in the new campaign video for Chanel No. 5, “The One That I Want”. Director Baz Luhrmann on the concept: “I knew her when she was quite young and starting out, and she’s evolved so much in both her life and work. The film reflects that – this woman has a child, a real job and then she has this relationship. Gisele is the Chanel woman now.”